Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: FAS Roundup: May 7, 2012

FAS Roundup: May 7, 2012

New report on non-strategic nuclear weapons, missing classified document, U.S. nuclear forces and much more.

New Report on Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons

Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons: A new FAS Special Report written by Hans M. Kristensen comes three weeks before 28 NATO member countries convene in Chicago on May 20-21 to approve the conclusions of a year-long Deterrence and Defense Posture Review (DDPR). Among other issues, the review will determine the number and role of the U.S. non-strategic nuclear weapons deployed in Europe and how NATO might work to reduce its nuclear posture.

From the Blogs

Counterintelligence Surveillance Under FISA Grew in 2011: In a new report to Congress from the Department of Justice, in 2011 the U.S. Government submitted 1,745 applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for authorization to conduct electronic surveillance or physical searches under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The report states that of that number, there were 1,676 requests for authority to perform electronic surveillance. In 2010, there were 1,579 such applications (including 1,511 for electronic surveillance).

Classified Records Said to be Missing from National Archives: A three-year investigation by the Inspector General found that more than a thousand boxes of classified government records are believed to be missing from the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). But there are no indications of theft or espionage, an official said.

Admin Presses for Renewal of FISA Surveillance Authority: The Obama Administration is urging Congress to renew provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act that are set to expire at the end of this year. One of the key provisions of the act would permit the electronic surveillance of entire categories of non-U.S. persons who are located abroad “without the need for a court order for each individual target.”

New Army Doctrine on "Information Collection": Secrecy News has obtained a copy of a new Army field manual that was published last week which explains the Army’s conduct of information collection activities in military operations.

U.S. vs. Jones on GPS Monitoring and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as U.S.-Columbia free trade agreement, the case of the United States vs. Jones (regarding GPS monitoring, property and privacy), foreign assistance to North Korea and cybersecurity.

Publications

US Nuclear Forces, 2012: Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project, and Dr. Robert S. Norris, senior fellow for Nuclear Policy, write in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is composed of roughly 1,950 strategic warheads deployed on 798 strategic delivery vehicles, as well as nearly 200 nonstrategic warheads deployed in Europe. In addition, the United States maintains approximately 2,800 warheads in reserve, bringing the total stockpile to nearly 5,000 warheads.

Events

On May 3, FAS hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC regarding the new FAS report on non-strategic nuclear weapons. Slides from the briefing can be found here.

On May 8, FAS will host an event at 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT on how to bridge the generational divide on nuclear security at the Menlo Circus Club in Atheron, CA. Speakers include FAS President Charles D. Ferguson, the Honorable George Shultz, the Honorable Rose Gottemoeller, Sidney D. Drell, Ambassador James Goodby, David Holloway, Richard Rhodes, Christopher Stubbs, Philip Taubman. Join the conversation and submit questions using the hashtag #FASbridge and visit the event page to view the webcast live.

FAS in the News

Monday, May 7, 2012